Dear Editor,
Miss Carr was looking down at us from the window of her classroom. From her vantage point she could look beyond the yard space of Wismar Hill Primary School to the road that leads one way to the scheme bridge and the other to the main road leading to One Mile and Half Mile. An argument had erupted among us boys in that particular area of the school yard. It had to do with who should move away and stay away and who should be allowed to play with the football etc. We were in First or Second Standard at the time and that meant we were very young.
The argument was getting out of control and we kept glancing up at where Miss Carr was and at one point she had disappeared. We kept glancing up during our argument because we knew that a teacher was watching us. We knew that teachers were not only there to ensure we were taught Math and English. They were also figures of discipline. They had as much power as our parents to exact discipline and though we admired them and were educationally moulded by them, we feared them too.
Miss Carr was a beautiful Amerindian woman with very light complexion and dark lips. Rumours had it that she was a Rasta woman. Her head was always wrapped nicely and she wore flowing clothes of cultural sorts. I glanced up at the window to see if she had returned. Miss Carr had suddenly appeared in our midst. What happened next would stay with me for the rest of my life!
We looked at her in silence. She had no whip and her expression was a mixture of seriousness, warmth and understanding. She spoke without any emotion. She did not have to ask what the problem was because she already knew. What she said to us was so simple yet so profound it can change Guyana for good.
Miss Carr said the schoolyard, the ball and everything within parameters of school belonged to all of us having the argument and yet it did not belonged to any of us individually. You have a right to share the space equally, to protect it and to enjoy all that is available. It is all yours and yet it belongs to none of you. Now go back to your classroom. Miss Carr ‘cut short’ the break because of the argument.
Teachers are being persecuted and denied their right to liveable wages and good working conditions. Sir Farrel died in the accident on Linden highway because he was forced to use his vehicle as a taxi to make ends meet. A senior military officer of the Guyana Defence Force, a year or two ago, was killed while using his vehicle as a taxi. He was murdered and his vehicle stolen.
This is the Guyana we are forced to live in because the Ali/ Jagdeo administration believes it owns the country. Jagdeo and Ali believe they own the police and the army. They believe they own the coffers of the nation and all of us behaving as if they do. When the PPP comes crashing down in 2025, Ali, Jagdeo and some others will have to run from Guyana. And I will dedicate the PPP’s permanent fall to Miss Carr and all other teachers in Guyana. Guyana belongs to all of us yet it is not the property of Ali and Jagdeo or any of us. Thank you, Miss Carr.
Sincerely,
Norman Browne
Social and Political Activist
